The present invention relates to an apparatus mounted on a vehicle (hereinafter called "host vehicle") such as an automobile or the like, for recognizing environments of a road along which the vehicle runs, and particularly to an apparatus for recognizing a run environment by image processing.
With an increase in vehicle performance, the provision of a preventive safety function for recognizing ambient environments such as traveling lanes, other vehicles, etc. under which a host vehicle runs, detecting conditions that an accident is likely to occur, and giving a warning to a driver to encourage a danger avoidance operation or positively automatically-controlling the vehicle, thereby preventing the accident beforehand has been of importance.
Further, there has been a growing great interest in a system such as autocruising for positively controlling the vehicle, e.g., controlling the distance between vehicles constant to thereby drive the vehicle as well as the issuance of the warning to the driver at this time, automatic operation or the like. However, the achievement of such preventive safety, autocruising driving and automatic operation needs to recognize the run environment of the host vehicle at high speed.
Therefore, a technique has heretofore been used which electrically processes image information with the front of a vehicle as the center by using an imager or imaging device such as a TV camera or the like so as to extract traveling lanes and other vehicles or the like, thereby recognizing the run environment of the vehicle.
The prior art has a problem in that no consideration is given to a point of view that image signal processing required to extract the traveling lanes and other vehicles or the like from the image information becomes massive and a great buildup in signal processing capability with respect to the required response is required.
Namely, it is necessary to search and quarry out an object to be recognized from the image information upon recognizing the vehicle run environment based on the image information. However, since the process for quarrying out the object to be recognized from the complex image information obtained from the imaging device is executed as it is in the prior art, massive amounts of calculations are necessary for its signal processing. As a result, the maintenance of a required response involves a great buildup in signal processing capability.
A demand for the recognition intended even for a general road as well as for a motor road (express highway) in which run environments do not change so much, has been increased recently in particular. However, the fulfillment of this demand needs to recognize even a traffic signal, and right- and left-turned vehicles and pedestrians or the like placed in an intersection. A further complex image is intended for its recognition.
In doing so, the prior art needs more massive amounts of calculations to quarry out the objects such as the traffic signal or the like as well as the traveling lanes, the leading vehicles from such more complex image. Thus, the above problem will result in more intensification.